Jason Mraz group handbell activity

This handbell activity is similar to one I posted over one year ago. I adapted this song for use in a class, which was large (18 people!). And I had to teach all of this nonverbally! so it can definitely be done. I even dare say it might be easier to teach without words than to try to explain this whole procedure...

Materials:
8-Note Rhythm Band handbells or deskbells
Lucky (for handbells).doc (adapted sheet music)
Lucky handbell colors.doc
iPod/speakers
"Lucky" by Jason Mraz ft. Colbie Callait mp3
Shakers or other small instruments (optional, see Adaptations)
4 paper plates/markers (optional, see Adaptations)

Procedure
1. Hand out bells, telling clients not to play until you instruct them.
2. Assign them the numbers that correspond with the document provided above (Lucky handbell colors.doc).
3. Have clients memorize the number(s) that go with their color. For example, the red bell (note C) must remember that he or she plays on numbers 1, 2, and 3. Meanwhile, the green bell needs only remember to play on 3. These numbers correspond with the chords of the song. So when all bells assigned the number 1 play, a beautiful C chord will ring.
4. Provide the sheet music, also found above (Lucky for handbells.doc). It is preferable to have a projector screen so that all clients may read off of the same page.
5. Begin music and, if necessary, conduct the piece by holding up finger-numbers or pointing to the numbers on the projector.

Adaptations:
1. If your group is larger than 8 people, consider adding shaker eggs (playing every eighth-note) or a wood block on the downbeats.
2. If your group is much larger (like mine was-18 people total), assign 4 people that are not playing bells to conduct the band. This is where the paper plates and markers come in. Each plate has a number, 1 through 4. The bells must watch the "conductors" for their cue: the conductor holds up their plate and the bells ring. You will probably need to teach your group how to give a good cue with large gestures and an intro breath.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT if you have any questions at all.

Friday Five: Appropriate rap/hip-hop songs

It's been awhile since I've made a Friday Five post. In the past, I've written about MadLibs, art therapy, techniques for singing country songs, and songs for positive thinking. You can find all the other posts by clicking on the "Friday five" keyword on the right sidebar of this page.

Today I bring you five songs that will win over most middle and high schoolers. They are all appropriate rap/hip-hop songs. These days, that is difficult to find.

1) Kick, Push (2006), Lupe Fiasco.
2) Kiss Kiss (2007), Chris brown.
3) You Make Me Better (2007), Fabolous.
4) Whip My Hair (2010), Willow Smith. Sung by Will Smith's daughter!
5) Good Morning (2009), Chamillionaire. I love this one especially because it samples the famous "Free Fallin" melody from Tom Petty.

For more, check out this link at Yahoo Answers.

New Activity! I Can Transform Ya

How do you entertain adolescents who have a preference for gangsta rap and selling weed?

Lately I've been volunteering at a secondary school here in Tallahassee. The students there all have IEPs with behavioral and emotional goals. Many of the students go to this school after being expelled from public school. Curse words fly, and students are often being marked with "disrespects." Some of the students have problems not only with school, but also at home and with the law.

More than anything, this population is one that needs extra attention. Of course, music therapy is a great way to teach proper self-expression and appropriate social interactions. But what do I do when I am clearly out of place in the classroom?

This activity worked very well with the students. Many of you may recognize the activity, the concept is not mine. However, the activity sheets I am providing a link to are ones that I created and you are welcome to use!

Both of these links will take you to Scribd.com, where you will find the
I Can Transform Ya task analysis &
I Can Transform Ya activity sheets

The video below is the song that I used for the group I mentioned above. Of course, it could be done with a wide range of populations. See the task analysis for more about that.



I want any activities I blog about to be useful and accessible to all MTs. If you have ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL regarding how to implement the activity, how to create music sheets of your own, problems using the sheets I provided, etc., please ask! I will be more than happy to help at any time, even if you send me an email or comment months after this post.

Understanding family dynamics

This activity will help your adolescent patients express and communicate their perception of family. It will help them to speak out about the dynamics between individuals, each person's role, and what goes on in the household. I also see this as being a great family counseling intervention.

In this activity, the therapist first teaches the patient about different instruments you might find in a band or orchestra. As you teach about each one, provide music to showcase the sound of that instrument. Then encourage your patient to come up with a few words to describe each one. For example, they might describe a clarinet as being emotional, sensitive, and compassionate. After you have taken the time to create a list of all these instruments and their assigned characteristics, ask the patient to assign each family member to one of those instruments. They might say that their sister is the clarinet because she is always there to listen to problems and helps by giving advice. Truth be told, it doesn't matter how they describe the instrument. (A friend of mine will tell you that she only knows clarinet players as being weird.) People's perceptions will differ, but ask the patient to describe why he or she labeled the instrument (and in turn the family member) in that way. This activity will hopefully get the patient to open up and gives us the opportunity for a lot more discussion and therapeutic intervention.

Beyond this, the therapist might use this to address conflicts with peers or bullying by having the patient describe different students at school or other kids in the community.

Music Bingo

Why do we sometimes struggle so much with activity ideas when the solutions to our problems are already out there under our nose? All it takes is a little creativity to turn a popular game into its sisterly music version. Here, using the ever popular game of Bingo, numbers are replaced with songs (or you may choose to use song lyrics to make it more difficult). Play a song and have patients identify it by covering up the space on the board. The first to get five squares in a row has Bingo!

Click here to use some Bingo sheets I have already made.

Friday Five: Video games & MT goals

Video games have gotten a bad rep. Are we losing our minds to the television screen and gory blood battles with friends? I don't know. Are America's butts getting big because we stare with mouths agape at overstimulating amounts of light and sound for hours on end? Maybe.

I really don't know how to answer these questions. But instead of focusing on these criticisms, I want to shine a new light on video games. Can the powers of a video game be used for good rather than evil?

Well, I would certainly say so! These days I play more video games than I ever did in my youth. I don't own a Wii, but the Adolescent Unit at BHC does! At BHC, the kids can earn points which can be spent playing video games (as well as other things like leaving the unit for meals, playing outside, etc.). But occasionally, we'll break out the Wii in MT session. Why? Just think of all the skills that can develop when playing a music-based video game: focus of attention (that's an important one), self-esteem (another biggie), appropriate socialization (sharing, good sportsmanship, team-building), cognitive stimulation and mental alertness, motor skills (fine and gross), and knowledge of music education. If you're thinking that your clients could benefit from some of these, consider the following music games:

1.Just Dance! My favorite! Players mirror the movement of a silhouette on the screen. Points are for accuracy of movement and timing. You'll be seeing a new version in stores October 12! There is a mode in the game where players are directed to start/stop dancing (think impulse control!).
2.Karaoke Revolution Players sing along to popular songs and are given points for accuracy of pitch. There are quite a few releases of this game in stores.
3.Wii Music Players can learn about various musical instruments. They can express creativity by creating a band and jamming together. They can also be tested cognitively in the Minigame mode.
4.Donkey Konga Tests rhythmic accuracy. There are a couple versions of this in stores. The game comes with a set of Wii conga drums!
5.Rock Band Doesn't everybody know about this game by now? Its cousin, Guitar Hero, is equally as popular. The game comes with Wii guitar, drum set, and microphone. Players battle for points by testing finger dexterity and rhythmic accuracy.

Yes, I am citing Wikipedia.

Lady Gaga on Boomwhackers

I've been meaning to share an activity for you to consider from Kat Fulton, who writes a blog (Rhythm for Good). Kat is a fantastic arranger of pieces for Boomwhackers. Her most recently posted Boomwhacker project is a Lady Gaga remix. Listen to the piece while watching Kat's very own homemade music video:


Kat was kind enough to email me the arrangements for this and the Black Eyed Peas' "I Got a Feeling." She invites anyone who is interested in these arrangements to email her as well. Check out the blog post for more information.

Thanks again to Kat for sharing! And I suggest to anyone who is reading this to consider transcribing their own popular song for a Boomwhacker.

Cut & Paste Songwriting Activity

It is often difficult to put into words what we are feeling. It is even more difficult to write a song about it. This is a songwriting activity that won't instill fear in your patients once you introduce the session. It is cut & paste project. Anyone who can cut and paste (and even those who can't) can be successful.

In preparation for this activity, you must create a page of song lyrics (one line from different songs-about 30-35 per page). This number of lines (and whether you give them one, two, or three pages) should vary depending on the functioning level of your group.

Here are two pages of song lyrics (the goal is positive thinking) that you are free to use. There's a little bit of Counting Crows, Whitney Houston, Sara Bareilles, John Mayer, Rascal Flatts, Casting Crowns, Michael Jackson, and everything else in it.

The steps to this activity are simple enough:
1. Pass out lyric sheets.
2. Patients read through each line and put a mark by the ones they like (at least 10 lines).
3. Patients cut out the lyrics they put a mark by.
4. Patients rearrange song lyrics in a way that makes sense to them.
5. Patients can glue the lyrics to a piece of construction paper and decorate.

Adaptations:
a) People going through substance withdrawals or who are experiencing any sort of tremors will have difficulty cutting out lyrics. In this case, you may cut the lyrics for them OR allow them to handwrite the lyrics.
b) Use glue sticks rather than bottles of glue. The reasons for this are obvious, I think.
c) Patients can change lyrics/add to lyrics/etc. to make the song exactly how they'd like.
d) For people with visual impairments, make text large and easy to read. Give them fewer lines of lyrics to read so as not to overwhelm them.
e) It is easy for patients to get overwhelmed with the amount of words on a page. Plan accordingly by providing fewer choices: larger text, fewer lines, fewer pages.

Again, self-concept...but now we have a plan!

Man, I suppose I've been doing a lot of posts on self-concept lately. It seems only natural because we've had some patients lately at the BHC that really need to address this.

I am posting a plan today that utilizes the Who I Am video posted yesterday. This is a plan that I prepared for the BHC for a 50 minute session. As you read it, it no doubt sounds a little silly. Rather than posting a task analysis like normal, I wrote down talking points for my own personal use. One thing I've really been working hard on at my internship is flowing smoothly between activities. No awkward jumps in conversation. Writing these talking points really helps me in this. In the left column you'll see what the activity is. Most of it is song discussion. There is also a worksheet (that I discuss below), a video discussion, and Who I Am sign making (a little bit of crafts).

There is a worksheet (which I do not have available on the computer) full of positive fill-in-the-blank statements. You can definitely make one of these yourself. Positive affirmation statements might be:
I'm really good at_____________________________.
I look by best when_____________________________.
My best personal trait is_____________________________.
My friends like me because I_____________________________.
The worksheet I used had 20-25 of these statements.

One more important thing... this plan was used for a group of girls. If you have boys in your session, rethink the songs used for song discussions and some of the talking points that I listed.

Who I Am: video for self-concept

I love this video. It is great for addressing self-concept with adolescents. Questions we typically ask include:
+What signs did you see in the video and who was holding them?
+Were you surprised by any of them? (Usually kids are shocked that the gothic girl could be an honor student)
+If you had a sign to describe who you are, what would it say?
+If you had a sign for Who I Am with family, friends, and alone, would they be different?
+What would they say and why do you think these signs would be different?

Friday five: songs for self-concept

The age of braces, first loves, and even prom is an awkward stage for everyone. People are always changing and middle and high school is a time for finding yourself. Girls and boys are often judged by who they hang out with, what they wear, and which classes they take. Many of these young adults are vulnerable. They may be picked on, they may have a lot of pressure from peers, they may have stress from school and activities and sadly, some may have a miserable home life (or at least think they do).

There are also many adults out there that struggle in a similar way. They can't stand being single, they want a perfect family image, or they fear they're not doing a great job at work. Broken relationships, job loss, and financial stress can leave an adult wondering what went wrong with them.

If you work with anyone of this age as a music therapist, you may find yourself having to address self-concept. What does the client like about him/herself? What is he/she good at? Does he/she deserve more love than what they're allowing themselves? Today's Friday five is all about self-concept. Songs to introduce the subject and facilitate discussion or activities on the issue:

1) "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield
2) "Video" by India.Arie
3) "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree
4) "Fifteen" by Taylor Swift
5) "Gone" by Switchfoot

Music Jeopardy

I'm in the process now of developing a Music Jeopardy game. In this game, you will divide your group into two teams. Have the teams select a name and decide who goes first. Each team will get a turn to choose a question based on the number of points it is worth. To find the answer, the team will work together. Like Jeopardy, 100 point questions are simpler than 500 point questions. The questions and points are as follows:

100 points...Name that tune
Much like music trivia, play a song from the iPod and have the team guess the song's title.

200 points...Artists that start with the letter _____
Name a letter. A=Aretha Franklin, Aerosmith, ABBA.

300 points...Song scramble
mi awglink no nusihens=I'm Walking On Sunshine

400 points...Fill in the blank
Fill in the missing word(s) in the song title. I Walk the___________=I Walk the Line

500 points...Song titles that include the word _____
Give a word found in some song titles. Have the team come up with a title that incorporates that word. "Stop"=Stop! In the Name Of Love, Don't Stop Believin'

Beach ball game

I am working on a session with one of my groups with the theme of "Beach Party." It being summer in Florida, it seemed only appropriate. One of the games I have planned is a game of catch with a goal of cognitive stimulation. To fit the beachy theme, I am playing catch with a beach ball. But really, you could toss a beanbag, a regular ball, etc.

Materials:
Beach ball
iPod/speakers (the song I chose for this activity was "Surfin USA" by the Beach Boys)

Procedure:
When music begins, clients will toss ball back and forth. When MT stops the music, the ball stops moving. The person left holding the ball when the music stops will be asked a question*.

*The question asked will depend on the functioning level of the patient and the goals you are working on in that group. The patients I will see tomorrow are generally low functioning adults. I may ask questions like, "What kind of things can you find at the beach?" or "Name another song that the Beach Boys sang." If I am working on self-concept with children, I might ask them to name one thing they like about themselves.

An activity that will be a lifesaver

Today at the BHC, I had a plan prepared for one of the units. I spent the morning putting it together, copying songs to a playlist on the computer. With 15 minutes to go-time, I plugged in the iPod only to find that the computer would not recognize the stupid machine. Not only that, but the iPod screen completely froze! And yes, we have another iPod but no, for complicated reasons we cannot play video from it.

What is one to do with an iPod full of music and no time to plan?

Music trivia! Music trivia for mental alertness, cognitive stimulation, and mood elevation.

Materials:
iPod and speakers
White board
Dry/erase markers

Task Analysis:
1) Split your group into two teams. Have them come up with a team name.
2) Decide who goes first (the team who has a person with the closest birthday goes first, for example).
3) Play a song for that team. Teams get one point for artist, one point for song title. You can throw in fun points here and there, like a point for dancing the Cupid Shuffle or a point for naming the movie that Eye Of the Tiger is famous for.
4) Repeat step 3, alternating between teams. If a team is at a loss for artist or title, you can allow the other team to "steal" their point.
5) Towards the end of the session, make it a "free for all." Anyone can guess at any time. Warning: you have to pay close attention to who guesses correctly first. It is hard when a few people shout it out at once.

I do not blindly choose songs either. There are two reasons that I can think of to rig the game this way. (A) I want to set the patient up for success. If they are slow to answer and points are popping up from everyone but that patient, play something you think they will know right off the bat. (B) I want to shape a person's mood. Today a patient came into session late. She planted herself right in front of me with arms crossed and started yelling at the staff. Well, my next song was Michael Jackson, something I really thought she'd enjoy. By the end of the hour she was dancing like crazy, smiling and laughing! It is awesome to see changes like that happen in front of you.

A therapeutic guitar lesson

Today, with just one patient on the children's unit at the BHC, I had the opportunity to lead a one-to-one session. If your patient has an interest (like mine did) in learning the guitar, this can turn into an awesome session with a focus on cognitive stimulation.

Preparations:
Tape strips of paper to the neck of the guitar that number each fret (the paper should sit just above the fret, not under the strings).

Create flash cards of the chord fingerings you want to teach, (use a different color of construction paper for each chord). I chose to teach C, D, em, G, A, and A7.

Tape three strips of paper on the fret board; place one in the 1st fret, one in the 2nd fret, and one in the 3rd fret.

Color dots where fingers should be placed for each of the chords you chose. Correspond the color of that dot with the color of the flashcard. To color, pull the strings away carefully to get access to the paper taped onto the fret board.

Materials:
Guitar with paper labels of frets/chord fingerings
Chord flashcards (with finger numbers)
Markers
Sheet music

Task analysis:
1) Teach the patient finger numbers (1=index, 2=middle, 3=ring, 4=little). Quiz patient on finger numbers by calling out numbers and having them wiggle that finger.

2) Teach fret numbers. Quiz: e.g. "Put your 3rd finger anywhere on the 2nd fret."

3) Teach string numbers. Quiz: e.g. "Put your 1st finger on the 5th string on the 3rd fret."

4) Explain to the patient how colors of the dots on the guitar correspond with the chords on the flashcard. Teach them how to finger their first chord (mine was D). Quiz: e.g. "Take fingers off the guitar. Finger the D chord again." Repeat, repeat.

5) If they do really well with all these tasks, allow them to try to figure out the next chord (A) on their own. Quiz as you did in step 4, but then ask them to finger the switch between fingering the first chord and fingering the second.

6) At this point, the patient may play a I-V-I song.

7) Teach another chord (G) and the patient is ready for a I-IV-V-I song! The songs I used for this step were "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and "This Little Light Of Mine."

8) If you have time to advance, teach more chords (C and Em). A great song that utilizes only the chords mentioned in these steps is "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay.

Playing for change

Speaking of music videos, I want to share a couple that are very popular at the BHC. The two songs I am posting below come from a group called Playing For Change. The group began in 2005 to bring "peace through music." They have traveled to many places in the world to record musicians playing songs like "One Love" and "Stand By Me."

The result is a music video that overlaps all these musicians to make one song. As you watch these, you'll count dozens of different locations. Musicians from the U.S., Africa, Europe, and Asia play with their native styles, instruments, and languages.

One Love


Stand By Me

Music videos elevate mood

I have officially finished my first week of internship!

I saw a lot of activities this week that I will be sharing throughout this blog's life. Let me share some information about the BHC first. The BHC has four units, one of which is a unit for geriatric and psychiatric patients. People that get put in this unit may require a little bit more attention from the doctors and nurses than the rest. However, the music therapists meet with all four units almost every weekday.

In the unit I described above, there is very often a very diverse group that comes in. Patients may have very different levels of functioning or interests. So, transfer this outside of the BHC. You may find yourself with a group (small or large) that is difficult to meet all the needs of its participants. In this case, consider music videos.

Music videos are a great way to address mood elevation when you have some patients with low or unclear cognitive capabilities. It does not require a great deal of discussion (though you do have this option if you think it is appropriate to your group). Create a playlist on your iPod that is specific to that group and full of music videos (you will need to watch them all the way through to ensure that they are clean). I will soon post a couple videos to add to your collection that are an absolute hit at the BHC.

Around the world in 60 minutes

Today at the BHC I observed a great activity to increase cognitive stimulation and socialization. Read on for a little lesson in geography:

Materials:
iPod and speakers
Music from different countries
Maps of continents (optional)
Some knowledge of the region you are covering

Task Analysis:
1) Choose a continent to focus on and hand out maps if they are a available. When I did this, the activity used maps in a coloring book. Patients colored each country in a different color as they listened to music.
2) Begin at the northeastern-most country on the map. In the case of North America, it was Canada. Talk about some of that country's history and culture. Ask the clients what they know about that region.
3) Play popular music from artists that were born in that country. Alanis Morissette, Celine Dion, and Nickelback are all singers/groups from Canada.
4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 by continuing through the map.
5) Give your clients a brief verbal quiz to gain an idea of whether they improved in session.

Singin', Why I Got the Blues

There will be a point when you realize that you cannot plan every detail in a music therapy session. When you know you've considered every possible interaction between you and your client, you will be proved wrong.

I have no doubt that this is why music therapists often find songwriting sessions so intimidating. You are actually allowing and encouraging your clients to surprise you. For a new therapist, this is surely cause for stress. But I think you'll find, as I've heard from MT professionals, that song writing is not something to fear. It can be such a powerful tool in your clients' progress.

The activity I am posting today is a fill-in-the-blank songwriting activity. Fill-in-the-blank songs are a smart way to lead a session for several reasons. First, a client will often be much more intimidated by a song writing activity than you are, believe it or not. Giving them a simple sentence to complete is much less overwhelming than handing them a blank sheet of paper and telling them, "Write a song." Second, you will set yourself up for success by having half the song already written on paper. Also important in unstable populations is maintaining focus. Giving them free reign with a blank sheet of paper can be inviting a world of trouble into your session. As you will see in the following song sheet, I have put my clients on track with an appropriate sentence-starter. By starting a line with "I take my mind off the blues by...", I have gotten them started thinking about coping skills.

Use this song sheet to prepare a successful song writing session. It uses a blues chord progression, as you'll see by the roman numerals I've included. Choose a key and decide your own melody. I got the idea for writing about the "blues" from a practicum at the hospital. It will probably prove useful with a variety of populations: clients in hospital, hospice, psychiatric hospital, eating disorder clinic, etc.

And please, don't avoid the most empowering part of a music therapy session. Offer your clients a chance to share their song by playing it yourself. You can do it, you've prepared for this!

Draw me a song

If you're stuck on ideas for a good activity for a large group, you may be closer than you think to the perfect session plan. It will require some creative thinking on your part, but consider adapting board games or party games to involve music. An example that I have used in my own practicum sessions is Music Pictionary.

Materials:
Whiteboard or chalkboard
Dry erase markers or chalk
Strips of paper with songs written on them
iPod with all songs

Task Analysis:
1. Split group into two teams. Have each team come up with a name (you may choose to give them a category for their name, e.g. desserts).
2. Choose a team to go first, then ask that team for a player to draw first.
3. Have the player choose a song by picking a strip of paper at random. Make sure all the songs you write down are appropriate to the group.
4. The player will go to the board and begin drawing as the team guesses the song (no talking allowed from the person drawing!). If you choose, time the round at about 60 seconds.
5. If the player's team guesses the song within the time allotted, that team receives a point. If the player's team cannot guess correctly within that time, the opposing team will be allowed one guess at the song. If they guess correctly at this point, that teams wins the point.
6. Play the song by iPod as you continue the game.
7. Repeat steps 3 through 6, alternating between teams.


Extensions & adaptations:
a) The team that guesses the song can also receive a point for guessing the artist. You may also choose to give points if your clients will tell you one interesting fact about that song (for example, "Stairway to Heaven" was the theme of their high school prom).

b) If it is not appropriate to your group, do not worry about creating teams and keeping points.

c) Other games that may be adapted similarly include Charades, Cranium, and Catch Phrase. All of these have different rules and materials that you will have to look into if you want to incorporate them into your session.